13 Years Later ...Lake Como!

Seven train rides later from Murren and we made it to the town of Varenna in Lake Como. The last time I was in Italy, it was October 2004 and I was on my first solo trip abroad. Lake Como was on my list but I thought it'd be too romantic of a place to go solo, so I skipped it but it was always on my list of places to come back to. Here we are ...13 years later! We arrived to a sunny and warm picturestic lake. What a world of difference in temperature compared to the Swiss Alps. We booked a newer built apartment that sits above the train station and overlooks the lake. In many ways, I prefer this vs the older rooms in the center of town. It's a bit too crowded for my taste. Lake Como is a place you come for total relaxation. There isn't much to do other than eat ice cream, meals, walk the town's and gardens and spend time with your company.

Since this is a lake of villages, we ventured over to Menaggio on the other side of Varenna and found a town that seems more lived in than Varenna. It has more traffic, hotels seem a bit bigger and the square is right in the water and that's about it for Menaggio. No pretty gardens. The next day was rainy so we ventured out for meals and then cozied up in our apartment. Steve has been deep into his James Bond movies since our visit to the Schilthorn. Our last full day here, the rain lightened up so we ventured to Bellagio, known as the glam gem of Lake Como, to see what that was all about. Bellagio has shops for days compared to its other villages on the lake. The streets are filled with more people and certainly more cars. While walking the shops, Steve asked if he can get a fishing boat. My questions are always 1) where are we putting it? 2) how are we getting it back home? Later in the afternoon, we went back for the fishing boat.


Lake Como is beautiful. I don't know that it's the most beautiful lake in the world as one poster claimed, but it is beautiful, serene and peaceful with some of the largest mansions you'll ever see. 13 years later, definitely worth it!

In Awe of The Alps In Switzerland

One flight and a couple of expensive train rides later, we arrived in Switzerland from Mallorca. Zermatt was our stop and we arrived to cold and rain. Yours truly must have read the wrong weather report and had to go shopping for leggings! I knew Switzerland would be expensive but wow!! This will go down as the most expensive country I've traveled to. We got off the train station in Zermatt, wandered up the street and found our hotel. We had a sweet room with a deck that faced the Matterhorn except it would take two days before we were able to see it due to weather. On the one sunny day that we were there, we were able to do the Seenweg trail which is also known as the Matterhorn's five lakes trail and it was truly stunning! Cold but stunning! We were in Zermatt for three nights and felt that was a good amount of time there. It was time to move on to another part of the mountains- Oberland!

After five train changes and one gondola ride, we arrived in the town of Murren from Zermatt. Unlike Zermatt, where luxury commercialism (Hublot, Rolex, Patik Philippe) is in your face, Murran is a quiet small village. Although we did hear that in the prime of summer, this little village sitting on a cliff brings in 4K folks a day. Crazy to think! While folks go to Zermatt for the Matterhorn, folks come to Murren for the Schilthorn, the Eiger, Münch and the Jungfrau. On our second day here, the sun burst through the clouds so we decided it'd be a perfect day for the Schilthorn. $80 Swiss Francs takes you to the top of the Schilthorn from Murren and it was worth it! Views of the big three: Eiger, Münch and Jungfrau floating in the clouds with the cheesy James Bond theme in the background. We spent the next two days hiking the North Face Trail and the Mountain View Trail around these mountains with town visits to Gimmelwald and Lauterbrunnen.

The debate I've often read is, given one choice, would you choose Zermatt or Oberland?! Zermatt is busier, more commercialized, more hotels, more restaurants with tasty pizza such as Grampi's and Molino's. And, of course it has the Matterhorn which was my favorite hike in Switzerland. Oberland is smaller, hotels are more rustic, less traffic because cars aren't allowed in many of the towns above the valley. There are restaurants but only one deserves your money, time and calories and that's Le Grotte in Murren. Of course, you can choose to have broccoli beef for $28 Swiss Francs or pasta from the freezer for $25 Swiss Francs at neighboring restraurants. Oberland has countless hiking trails and view of Europe's highest mountain tops. So, I suppose it comes down to the atmosphere one wants! We were lucky enough to fit both in!

That's it for Switzerland!

Is It Mallorca or Majorca?

Depends on who you ask, I suppose! I funded this flight for my second trip to Europe with my United miles and it was quite a journey. SFO-->ORD-->ZUR-->PMI. During my journey over, I was convinced that I would take the $25 euro cab ride to my hotel for ease and convenience but then I got off my last flight and thought, I can figure this bus thing out! Hopped on the #1 Aeroport bus into town for $5 euros, got off at Place Espanza, got my bird's eye view map out, located some buildings around my hotel, followed two directional signs and viola, Hotel Convent Missio! Steve would be joining me the next day after having attended his brain conference in the south of France.

Mallorca is a much larger island than I thought it'd be but thanks to their awesome bus system, you can just about get anywhere on the island. I spent my first day on the #3 bus to a beach club strip called Illetas. The waters were warm but it was way to crowded for my liking, so I cut my beach day short, headed back into Palma and explored it more. Palma is a town where you don't necessarily need a map to guide you. All the lanes and roads eventually intersect again. Palma is busy, humid, tapas and ice cream shops galore but the main stand out is their Cathedral. Wow, that stained glass in there with the high ceilings and ancient architecture is stunning. The Gaudi architecture you see
around town isn't bad either. Just have to remember to look up to catch it!

With Mallorca's awesome bus system, we took day trips to Soller, Valldemosa and Alcudia. The town of Soller isn't much but it has a busy port full of shops and restaurants that's worth taking a wander in. The highlight of Soller is the one hour train ride from Palma and then the tram that takes you to the port. Beyond that, time is best spent having a lunch by the water and then a drink back in Soller town while people watching in the square by their cathedral.

Valldemosa, which I deemed the gem of Mallorca. A 30 minute bus ride takes you there from Palma. You come upon a charming old town surrounded by nature and hills. It's stone buildings and houses are decorated with little potted plants all around the entry ways.

And then there's, Alcudia. The last day trip we did from Palma. It's a longer bus ride at an hour from Palma. It's an old town surrounded by a wall or fort with charming pedestrian only narrow lanes. You can roam these lanes ....for what seems like awhile and not be bored because each time.. you discover something different. We took a taxi from Alcudia to a nearby beach called S'illot. You may get there by taxi but no guarantees that you'd make it back! You can call for one at the beach restaurant but taxis aren't efficiently run in a Alcudia and you can be waiting for days. It took us a few tries but we were able to hitch a ride back from after enjoying some sun and warm waters of S'illot!

That's it for Mallorca, next up, Switzerland!